Voice message recorder and limited range transmitter for use with telephones

ABSTRACT

A housing is detachably mounted on a telephone handset, and contains voice recording and/or radio frequency transmitting circuitry for broadcasting radio frequency signals corresponding to a recorded message, or corresponding to the voice of the other party to a telephone call, to a nearby radio receiver. The circuitry controls are mounted at lateral side edge regions of the housing for ease of access.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.08/933,022, filed Sep. 18, 1997, now abandoned, which is a continuationof U.S. application Ser. No. 08/677,082, filed Jul. 9, 1996, nowabandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.08/516,802, filed Aug. 18, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,568,538.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to telephone apparatus in general, andmore particularly to message recording equipment to be used inconjunction therewith, and still more particularly to limited rangetransmission of signals for broadcast on a nearby radio receiver.

2. Description of the Related Art

There are already known various constructions of telephone apparatus,among them, besides the traditional wall-mounted, desk or nightstandunits, the so-called cordless telephones that include a base unit and ahandset unit that communicate with one another by limited rangebroadcasting, and the so-called cellular telephones that communicateeither with a remote central base unit or directly with an overheadsatellite.

Regardless of the construction of the telephone apparatus, though, thereis often a pronounced need to create a memorandum of, for instance, aname and telephone number of a caller, a time and place of an event toattend, or the like, either while a particular telephone conversation isin progress, or immediately after its conclusion or, generally speaking,at any time. Traditionally, this was accomplished by having a notepadand a writing utensil handy close to the telephone. However, there is atendency for one or the other, or both, of such items to disappear fromits intended location just before a particularly important or crucialpiece of information is to be jotted down, so that the telephone userhas to interrupt the conversation and try to locate the missing item ora replacement for it.

A similar problem also exists when a more recent development in theinformation recording field, a so-called voice message recorder, is tobe used instead of the paper-and-pencil duo. More particularly, messagerecorders of this type, which are designed to record a number ofrelatively short messages on digital data storage chips, are relativelysmall units that are easily misplaced or covered up by other items thatmay be present at the vicinity of the telephone apparatus, so that thetelephone users again have to go to look for them, or fumble throughpapers and the like trying to locate them, sometimes in a futile effort,before being able to use them. Moreover, as a result of the miniaturesize and the resulting easy portability of such voice message recordingunits, it is highly likely that they will be transported to a locationdistant from its originally intended one, like to a different telephoneapparatus or practically anywhere within the apartment or home, leavingthe next potential user of the recording unit at a loss where to evenstart looking for the recording unit.

Telephones are finding increased usage in automobiles. Safety concernsdictate that drivers not be distracted by having to manually jotmessages down on paper, or to hold a cellular telephone in one's handwhile driving. Being able to record messages by voice alone, and beingable to listen to recorded messages and to the voice of the other partyon the telephone call without or with minor manual intervention, reducethe risk of automobile accidents.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to avoidthe disadvantages of the prior art.

More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide avoice recording unit that does not possess the drawbacks of the knownrecording units of this type.

Still another object of the present invention is to devise a voicerecording unit of the type here under consideration that is alwaysreadily available at the location of a telephone apparatus for use ifdesired.

It is yet another object of the present invention to design the aboverecording unit in such a manner as to be compatible with existingtelephone apparatus of any type.

A further object of the present invention is to promote hands-freeoperation of cellular telephones in automobile environments.

A concomitant object of the present invention is so to construct thevoice message recording unit of the above type as to be relativelysimple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use, and yetreliable in operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In keeping with the above objects and others which will become apparenthereafter, one feature of the present invention resides in a telephoneapparatus that includes a handset unit having a mouthpiece portion to belocated close to the mouth, and an earpiece portion to be situated atthe ear, of a user in a use position of the handset unit, and a handgripportion interconnecting the mouthpiece and earpiece portions, incombination with a voice message recording unit including an electricpower source, a voice message recording device, a microphone operativefor converting sounds into electrical signals and electrically connectedto the voice message recording device for supplying the electricalsignals thereto, means for controlling the operation of the voicemessage recording device in a recording and playback mode, and means forsupporting the voice message recording unit on the handset unit so as tobe disposed at the general vicinity of the user's mouth when the handsetunit is in its use position. A particular advantage of the presentinvention as described so far is that, because of the presence of theaforementioned supporting means, the likelihood that the voice messagerecording unit could be misplaced is significantly reduced if noteliminated altogether.

Moreover, the controlling means advantageously include manuallyactuatable recording and playback controls which are located at oneand/or both opposite lateral side regions of the handset unit. Thesecontrols are readily accessible to the user.

In one advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the telephoneapparatus further includes a base unit and a telephone cord connected tothe base unit and having a modular telephone plug at a free end thereof,and the handset unit has a modular telephone receptacle therein. Then,it is advantageous for the voice message recording unit to furtherinclude a casing accommodating all other of its components, and meansfor establishing electrical connections between the modular telephoneplug of the telephone cord and the modular telephone receptacle of thehandset unit. Such establishing means advantageously includes anauxiliary modular telephone receptacle in the casing for receiving theplug of the cord, an auxiliary modular telephone plug to be insertedinto the receptacle of the handset unit, a short length of telephonecord connected to the auxiliary plug and secured to the casing, andelectrically conductive means passing through the interior of the casingand electrically connecting the auxiliary receptacle with the shortlength of telephone cord.

In this context, it is especially advantageous when the handset unitincludes a loudspeaker received within its earpiece portion, when theelectrically conductive means of the voice message recording unitincludes at least one portion forming a part of an electricallyconductive path between the base unit and the loudspeaker of the handsetunit, and when the voice message recording unit includes at least oneoutput for electric signals representative of previously recorded voicemessages, and means for electrically connecting the output to theaforementioned at least one portion of the electrically conductivemeans. In this manner, a separate loudspeaker for the voice messagerecording unit can be dispensed with in that the telephone handset unitloudspeaker is shared by the handset unit and the recording unit.

According to another advantageous aspect of the present invention, thehandset unit includes a handset proper and a flap hingedly connected tothe handset, in which case the supporting means supports the voicemessage recording unit on the flap. The voice message recording unit maythen include its own casing that accommodates the other components ofthe voice message recording unit, in which event the supporting meansadvantageously includes connecting means connected to one and engagingthe other of the casing and the flap. However, in an alternative, theflap may include one shell part hingedly connected to the handset andanother shell part secured to the one shell part, the shell partsaccommodating the voice message recording unit between themselves toserve as the supporting means.

Another advantageous aspect of the present invention is embodied inmounting a casing of the voice message recording unit intermediate thehandset and a cellular battery pack. The casing is slim and compact andvirtually unnoticeable when so mounted. The manual controls arenevertheless readily accessible from die lateral edge regions of thecasing. The casing is readily mountable and demountable from its useposition in which it is sandwiched between the handset and the batterypack.

It is further advantageous, in accordance with another feature of thepresent invention, if the voice message recording unit further includesmeans for processing electrical signals that are representative of voicemessages previously recorded and appearing on at least one output of thevoice message recording device to convert them into correspondingaudible sounds. Such processing means may include a dedicatedloudspeaker or an AM/FM transmitter, or both, forming a part of thevoice message recording unit and electrically connected with the atleast one output of the voice message recording device. The transmitter,if present, is operative for broadcasting AM/FM signals corresponding tothe electrical signals for reception at and conversion thereof into theaudible signals by a nearby multipurpose radio receiver. If both theloudspeaker and the transmitter are provided, then it is advantageous toprovide a selector switch movable between two positions in which itconnects the at least one output of the voice message recording devicewith one of the loudspeaker and the transmitter to the exclusion of theother.

Rather than broadcasting recorded messages to the radio receiver,another aspect of this invention is to broadcast the sounds relayed bythe voice of the other party (human or machine) on the telephone call tothe radio receiver. This is especially advantageous in an automotiveenvironment so that the driver need not hold the telephone loudspeakerto his or her ear in order to listen to the other party, therebypromoting traffic safety.

In accordance with another facet of the present invention, the voicemessage recording unit includes a casing that accommodates its othercomponents, and there is further provided a case for receiving thehandset unit. Under these circumstances, the supporting meansadvantageously includes means for forming a pocket on the exterior ofthe case for partially receiving the voice message recording unit.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view of an embodiment of a telephoneapparatus and voice recording unit combination of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram showing certain components of thevoice recording unit of FIG. 1 and electrical interconnections betweenthem;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a modified embodiment of the combinationof the present invention as embodied in conjunction with one cordlesstelephone apparatus construction;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram similar to that of FIG. 2 but showing amodification of the recording unit;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view akin to that of FIG. 3 but showing thepresent invention as used in conjunction with a different constructionof the cordless telephone apparatus;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a further modification of the cordlesstelephone apparatus and of the recording unit associated therewith;

FIG. 7 is a broken-away, perspective view of a modification of thetelephone apparatus of FIG. 5, equipped with the present invention;

FIG. 8 is an exploded, perspective view of another embodiment of atelephone apparatus and voice recording unit combination of the presentinvention;

FIG. 9 is a broken-away, sectional view taken on line 9—9 of FIG. 8after assembly;

FIG. 10 is a broken-away, sectional view taken on line 10—10 of FIG. 8after assembly;

FIG. 11 is a side elevational view of the embodiment of FIG. 8 afterassembly;

FIG. 12 is an electrical circuit schematic for use with the embodimentof FIG. 8; and

FIG. 13 is an alternative electrical circuit useful for any of thedisclosed embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawing in detail, and first to FIG. 1 thereof, itmay be seen that the reference numeral 10 has been used therein toidentify a telephone apparatus of the type in conjunction with which thepresent invention is contemplated to be used. The telephone apparatus 10itself may be of almost any known construction and configuration, solong as it possesses those features, which will become readily apparentas the present description proceeds, that make it compatible with theconcepts embodied in the present invention. In the exemplary embodimentshown, the telephone apparatus 10 is constructed and used as awall-mounted unit, as it frequently is in household kitchens and similarrelatively busy areas where it is typically desired for the telephoneapparatus 10 to be out of the way of other activities taking placethere, yet to be close at hand for use when needed. However, it will beappreciated that the wall-mounted feature is not critical to the presentinvention.

The illustrated telephone apparatus 10 includes, as one of its maincomponents, a handset unit 11. The handset unit 11 is shown to includean earpiece portion 12 and a mouthpiece portion 13 that are connectedwith one another by a handgrip portion 14. As is customary, the earpieceportion 12 is provided in its interior with a sound generating deviceincluding an amplifier and a loudspeaker 12 a, while a microphone isaccommodated inside the mouthpiece portion 13. These electronic devices,as well as others that are contained either within the handset unit 11or in or on a base unit 15 that constitutes another main component ofthe telephone apparatus 10, are of conventional constructions so thatthey need not be illustrated or discussed here in detail, nor will theybe. Suffice it to say that such devices are incorporated in anelectronic circuitry that converts sounds picked up by the microphoneinto electrical signals to be sent from the base unit 15 into atelephone line, and also converts incoming electrical signals from thetelephone line into sounds issued by the loudspeaker.

As shown, the base unit 15 is provided with a control panel 16 thatagain is of a known construction so that it need not be explained herein any detail. The illustrated control panel 16 includes a keypad thatincludes the customary numerical and other keys to be used in dialingremote subscribers and/or sending data to remote computers or the likeonce the telephone connection with them is established. Here again, theprovision of the keypad on the base unit 15 is not critical to theinvention; instead, it could be mounted on the handset unit 11 aidparticularly on its handgrip portion 14. The base or wall unit 15 isshown to be provided with two recesses 17 and 18 that partially receivethe earpiece portion 12 and the mouthpiece portion 13 of the handset 11when the latter is “on hook”.

What is also shown in FIG. 1 of the drawing is that a telephone cord 19extends from the base unit 15. This telephone cord 19 is provided atleast at its end that is remote from the base unit 15 with a modularplug 20. Traditionally, this telephone plug 20 was received andreleasably locked in place in a substantially complementarily configuredsocket 21 that is provided in the mouthpiece portion 13 of the handsetunit 11. That is no longer true when the present invention is beingused.

Rather, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided aminiature voice recording unit 30 that is interposed between thetelephone plug 20 and the telephone socket 21. As shown, the unit 30includes a casing 31 that is provided at its one end face with anauxiliary modular telephone socket or receptacle 32. According to thepresent invention, the socket 32 is to receive and establish therequisite electrical contacts with the modular plug 20 of the telephonecord 19. Also, a detangler could be interposed between the socket 32 andthe plug 20 so that the telephone cord 19 will not twist and becometangled with itself.

Moreover, a telephone cord 33 of a relatively short length extends outof the casing 31 at the opposite end face thereof and carries at itsfree end that is remote from the casing 31 an auxiliary telephone plug34. In further accord with the invention, it is this auxiliary telephoneplug 34 that is plugged or inserted into the modular telephone socket 21of the handset 11 and establishes the necessary electrical contactstherewith.

The casing 31 further carries two switches or buttons 35 and 36 thatcontrol recording and playback, respectively but not necessarily in thatorder, and another switch 37 that renders it possible to switch betweenvarious information carrying channels, in a manner that is well known.The casing 31 is also provided with perforations 38 that are distributedin an orderly fashion and serve as sound conduits to a microphone thatis accommodated inside the casing 31 and hence is not shown here.

The switches 35 to 37 and the various control circuits in which they areincorporated, as well as the operation of such circuits, are so wellknown that they need not be discussed here to any greater extent thanwill be done presently in conjunction with FIG. 2 of the drawing. Asshown there, a recorder device 39, which is of any known construction,preferably including a digital data storage integrated circuit chip, isaccommodated in the interior of the casing 31 and is connected byrespective electrical leads with the respective switches 35, 36 and 37to enable the latter to control its operation. The recorder device 39further includes a pair of output terminals that are respectivelyconnected by wires or other electrical conductors 40 to two of the fourleads 33 that are shown to extend from the receptacle 32 first throughthe interior of the casing 31 and then beyond it to the plug 34.

The recorder device 39 also has a pair of input terminals that areelectrically connected with an only diagrammatically indicatedmicrophone 41. A battery 42 that is also mounted in the interior of thecasing 31 supplies electric current to the recorder device 39 and viathe same to the microphone 41 and to the electrical leads 40. It shouldbe clear by now, considering the fact that the microphone 41 isaccommodated in the casing 31 and a corresponding loudspeaker isconspicuously absent therefrom, that the two leads 33 to which theelectrical conductors 40 and hence the output terminals of the recorderunit 39 are connected are those that lead to the aforementionedloudspeaker accommodated in the earpiece portion 12 of the handset unit11 of the telephone apparatus 10, and that this loudspeaker consequentlydoubles up as a loudspeaker for the voice message recording unit 30.

In operation, the telephone apparatus 10, when it is to be used merelyto make telephone calls, can be operated in the usual manner, that is asif the recording unit 30 were not interposed between it and theelectrical cord 19. This is so because unimpeded electrically conductivepaths exist through the voice message recording unit 30 from the plug 20of the cord 19, which is indicated in FIG. 2 by respective smallrectangles representative of the respective electrical contacts of theplug 20, through the receptacle 32 all the way to the plug 34. As aresult, the voice message recording unit 30 is so to speak transparentto the telephone apparatus 10 under these circumstances.

Yet, if the user of the telephone apparatus 10 feels that he or sheshould record some message of his or her own to serve as a reminder at alater point of time, he or she can do it by simply depressing theappropriate one(s) of the buttons 35, 36 and 37 and talking into themicrophone 41 through the perforations 38 of the casing 31. It will beappreciated that, inasmuch as the unit 31 is self-contained as far asthe recording function is concerned, the recording can take place evenduring an ongoing telephone call, or at any other appropriate time,either immediately following a telephone conversation or independentlythereof, depending on what triggered the perceived need for using therecording unit 30 for recording the message. On the other hand, sincethe telephone apparatus 10 and the recording unit 30 share the sameloudspeaker (that of the telephone apparatus 10) in this particularimplementation of the present invention, it is at least more practicalto play back the previously recorded messages at a time when thetelephone apparatus 10 is not being used for making any telephone calls.

Turning now to FIG. 3 of the drawing, it should be self-evident that itreveals an implementation of the present invention in conjunction with aso-called cordless or cellular telephone apparatus including at least ahandset unit 11′. No distinction will be made now or later between suchportable telephone apparatus types inasmuch as the principles of thepresent invention are the same or at least very similar in both cases.However, a single prime will be used now with each of the referencenumerals of this unit 11′, and a double prime later, to distinguish themfrom functionally equivalent parts of the telephone apparatus 10 shownin FIG. 1 of the drawing.

Here, the hand-held unit 11′ also includes an earpiece portion 12′ and amouthpiece portion 13′, but it is also provided on its handgrip portion14′ with a control panel 16′ that is equipped with the aforementionedkeypad or the like. Moreover, the hand-held or handset unit 11′ is shownto be constructed as a so-called “flip”-type telephone unit in that itis equipped with a flap 43 that is hingedly connected with the handsetunit 11′ proper for pivoting into and out of a position in which it isjuxtaposed with the control panel 16′.

The present invention utilizes the presence of this flap 43, whichtraditionally has no electrical or electronic components supportedthereon or received therein, for supporting the voice message recordingunit 31 of the present invention at a location that is close to themouth of a user 52 when the flap 43 is in its illustrated flipped-openposition. To hold the recording unit 31 in place on the flap 43, thereare provided respective straps 44. These straps 44 can be constructed asresilient metal components rigidly connected with one and resilientlyengaging the other of the unit 31 and the flap 43, for instance.However, they could also be constituted by any other clamping orfastening components, of which so-called Velcro™ fasteners are just oneexample. FIG. 3 also shows that the hand-held telephone unit 11′ isequipped with an antenna 50, as is usual in this context.

For use with the detached, portable handset unit 11′, the messagerecording device 30′ is constructed as a self-contained unit, that is,it is equipped with its own means for reconverting the stored electricalsignals representative of the recorded messages into sounds. This is sobecause the output lines 40 of the recorder 39 can no longer beconveniently connected to the loudspeaker of the handset 11′. In thesimplest case, a separate loudspeaker 45 is accommodated in the interiorof the casing 31, in which case the output leads 40 of the recorder 39are directly connected thereto. At this juncture, it is to be mentionedthat, while the recorder device 39 is shown to have respective pairs ofinputs and outputs connected with the various components such as theswitches 35 to 37, the microphone 41, the battery 42 etc., in practiceit will be usually more convenient to provide a common ground for all ofsuch components, and have just a single input or output on the recorderdevice 39 for each of them.

While FIG. 4 shows the provision of the separate or dedicatedloudspeaker 45 in the casing 31, it shows something more as well, namelythe presence of an AM or FM transmitter 46 in the casing 31. Theloudspeaker 45 and the transmitter 46 can be provided as mutuallyexclusive options each connected directly with the output leads 40 ofthe recorder 39. However, it is advantageous to equip the recording unit30 with both of them, and to provide an additional switch 47 interposedbetween the output lines 40 and the loudspeaker 45, on the one hand, andthe transmitter 46, on the other hand, thus enabling the user of thedevice 30 to select which one of them to use in any particular instance.

Obviously, when the loudspeaker 45 is in use, it will generate soundsduring playback. However, given the miniature size of the unit 30 and ofits components, such sounds may be too faint to be heard in a noisyenvironment, such as in a moving car. If, however, an AM or FM radio orsimilar receiver is available at the location at which the playback isto take place, it can be used for generating more readily perceptiblesounds, in that the switch 47 is flipped into its position in which itconnects the output leads of the recorder 39 exclusively with thetransmitter 46. The latter then transmits signals at a frequency that isnot used by any local stations and at a power that is so low as not tohave any noticeable impact beyond the immediate vicinity of the handset11′ and of the aforementioned FM receiver.

Thus, when the latter is tuned to the transmission frequency of thetransmitter 46, it will amplify the signals broadcast by the transmitter46 to a level at which the sounds can be heard with sufficient clarityover the background noise. For almost universal use, it is best to tunethe transmitter 46 to a frequency that is reserved all over the countryfor local announcements (usually traffic reports broadcast to thegeneral public), but is being actually used only in certain very limitedareas. Advantageous frequencies are 88.1 MHz (FM) and 640 kHz (AM) forstations in the United States, and 88.15 MHz (FM) and 639 kHz (AM) forstations in Europe. The choice between AM and FM and the choice betweenU.S. and European modes of operation can be made by one or more selectorswitches. It goes without saying that the power of the transmitter 46has to be so low as not to interfere with this operation, that is, notto be picked up by other radio receivers located at even a relativelysmall distance (that between two cars) from the intended receiver andtuned to the same frequency, and that the playback will be possible oreffective only outside the areas in which the local announcements arebeing broadcast.

FIG. 5 of the drawing illustrates, in a somewhat simplified manner, howthe aforementioned recording unit, which is indicated at 30′ this time,can be incorporated into the flip-type telephone unit or handset 11′. Inthis instance, the flap 43′ is shown to consist of two shell-shapedparts 43 a and 43 b that are joined together in any known manner. Incertain “flip-phone” models, the flap 43′ is constructed in that mannerto begin with. In that case, the handset 11 can be easily retrofittedwith the voice message recording unit 30′ of the present invention bysimply disconnecting the shell part 43 b from the shell part 43 a (thelatter being usually the one that is hinged to the handset 11′ proper)and either replacing it with a substitute one that has all of theaforementioned components of the voice message recording unit 30′already mounted thereon (as described below in connection with FIG. 7),or reconnecting it with the shell part 43 a after the above componentshave been sandwiched between the shell parts 43 a and 43 b, typically inthe form of a printed circuit board carrying such individual componentsas well as the electrical connections between them.

It goes without saying that one or the other of the shell parts 43 a and43 b may have to be provided with perforations in order to present soundpassageways into and/or out of the interior of the casing that isconstituted by the assembled flap 43′ in this particular instance. It isalso to be understood that, even though this has been omitted from FIG.5 in order not to unduly encumber the drawing, the flap or casing 43′carries one or more of the aforementioned switches or buttons 35 to 37and 47 in a manner making them easily accessible from the exterior ofthe flap 43′. While such switches 35 to 37 and/or 47 could be located atone or the other of the major surfaces of the flap 43′, it is currentlypreferred to arrange than at opposite lateral edge regions of the flap43′, that is those edge regions that extend from the hinges to the freeend portion of the flap 43′, and advantageously close to the latter.

A relatively recent development in the field of wirelesstelecommunications, or at least of cellular communications, is theso-called “flipless” cellular or portable telephone handset unit likethat indicated at 11″ in FIG. 6. Of course, since the telephone handsetunit 11″ of this type is not equipped with a flippable flap, it wasnecessary to develop different means for supporting the recorder unit30″ on the handset unit 11″ at the general vicinity of the mouth of theuser of the telephone handset unit 11″.

Such novel supporting means includes, on a carrying case 48 of leather,vinyl, fabric or other similar natural or synthetic material which maybe provided in any event in order to protect the handset unit 11″ fromdamage, shock and/or other undesirable environmental influences, apouch-like pocket 49, preferably of a stretch, elastic material, forpartially and snugly receiving the recording unit 30″. As illustrated,the pocket 49 is situated at the side of the carrying case 48, extendsfrom close to the bottom to about half-way up the height of the case 48,and opens in the upward direction as considered in the illustratedorientation that corresponds to that in which the telephone handset unit11″ is being usually used.

In this instance, the voice message recording unit 30″ has aconfiguration resembling that of a pen or similar writing utensil, andis inserted into the open end of the pocket 49 from above. Thus, undernormal circumstances, the gravity pull will act to keep the voicemessage recording unit 30″ safely in the pocket 49. However, the voicemessage recording unit 30″ is preferably received in the pocket 49 witha certain amount of frictional engagement so as to prevent it frominadvertently slipping out of the pocket 49 when the telephone handsetunit 11″ is held in any other than its use position, or when the handsetunit 11″ is being displaced, possibly with a jerky motion. It may beseen in FIG. 6 that a substantial part of the elongated voice messagerecording unit 30″ projects out of the pocket 49, and that thisprojecting part carries at least the switches 35″ and 36″ and themicrophone 41″, thus making them accessible for manipulation in thefirst case, and for unimpeded sound propagation in the second case.

FIG. 7 depicts the lower end of a flip-type telephone unit or handset11″Δ modified from that shown in FIG. 5, but still having a flap 54constructed of two shell parts 54 a and 54 b. Shell part 54 a is hingedto the handset proper, while shell part 54 b is removably connected toshell part 54 a.

The removable shell part 54 b is advantageously provided with all theaforementioned components of the voice message recording unit mountedthereon. Hence, a user can remove the original factory-installed shellpart, and substitute the shell part 54 b equipped with the recordingunit of this invention. Of course, a manufacturer could also supply thetelephone unit with the recording unit already built in.

FIG. 7 also shows a slide switch 56 and push buttons 58 and 60 locatedat the lateral edges of the flap 54 to enable the user to have readyaccess thereto to control the recording unit.

FIGS. 8-11 depict another advantageous embodiment 100 for use with aconventional cellular telephone comprising a handset 102 of the typeshown in FIGS. 5 and 7, and a battery pack 104 mounted at the rear ofthe handset. As is conventional in this art, the pack 104 has a pair ofelongated slide rails 106, 108 which slide along and normally engage apair of elongated channels 110, 112 formed at opposite lateral sides ofthe handset 102. A resilient latch 114 (see FIG. 10) on the pack 104 hasa latch portion 116 which normally engages with a snap-type action acomplementarily configured latching recess 118 formed at the rear of thehandset. Electrical contacts on the inner face of the pack 104 (hiddenin FIG. 8) make electrical connection to the electrical contacts 120,122 on the inner face of the handset when the pack is mounted so thatelectrical power is supplied to the handset.

As described so far, the handset and pack are entirely conventional andneed no extended discussion. Commercial cellular telephones of this typeare currently being marketed by Motorola, Inc., Ericsson, Inc. andNokia, Inc. What is new is the detachable mounting of a casing 130between the inner faces of the handset and battery pack. The casing 130is a slim, compact module having a generally rectangular parallelepipedshape. One face of the module, i.e., the one that faces the inner faceof the handset, is provided with a pair of elongated slide tracks 132,134 analogous to slide rails 106, 108. Slide tracks 132, 134 slide alongand engage the channels 110, 112 in the same manner as the slide rails106, 108 (see FIG. 9). The opposite face of the module, i.e., the onethat faces the inner face of the pack, is provided with a pair ofelongated passages 136, 138 analogous to the channels 110, 112. Thepassages 136, 138 receive the slide rails 106, 108 of the pack. Theresultant sandwich-type mounting is shown in FIGS. 9-11.

The casing 130 also has a resilient latch member 140 analogous to latch114. The latch member 140 has a latch part 142 analogous to latchportion 116. The latch part 142 engages with snap action the latchingrecess 118. The casing 130 also has a latch cavity 143 analogous tolatching recess 118. The latch portion 116 engages the latching recess118 with a snap action in an assembled condition of use. Electricalcontacts 144, 146 on one face of the casing 130 make electrical contactwith non-illustrated contacts on the pack to supply electrical power toelectrical components in the casing. The opposite face of the casing 130also has electrical contacts which connect to electrical contacts 120,122 to complete the delivery of power to the handset.

The mounting of the casing 130 is accomplished much like the pack ismounted on the handset, with a combination “slide and locking” action.To remove the casing 130, one pushes the latch member 140 to its dashedline position in FIG. 10. This pushing action causes the latch part 142to pivot about living hinge 141 rearwardly out of the latching recess,again in a manner analogous to the operation of the resilient latch 114and its latching portion 116. Mounting of the casing 130 is quick andeasy. No modification to the handset and the pack is required ordesired.

The electrical components mounted within the casing 130 can, forexample, be the voice recording unit components described above. Asshown in FIG. 12, the message recording device 150 has an inputconnected to a microphone 152, and its output connected to either anon-board local speaker 154, or to a transmitter 156 for transmission toa nearby radio receiver, such as a car radio, depending on the positionof the selector switch S. The transmitter can be AM or FM, tunable toeither U.S. or European stations, as described above.

The manual controls, e.g., play 160, record 162, rewind 164 and fastforward 166, are mounted at the lateral edge regions of the casing (seeFIGS. 8 and 11) for ease of accessibility. An on-board set of batteries168 may be optionally provided, which is especially useful as a backuppower supply in case the main pack 104 fails.

Rather than using the transmitter 156 to broadcast messages recorded bythe recording device 150, the casing 130 can house components thatbroadcast any electrical signal indicative of sound, including the voiceof the other party (human or machine) on the telephone call. As shown inFIG. 13, the cellular telephone 102 which, of course, is a transceiverreceives telephone signals and rather than, or in addition to,conducting these signals to an on-board loudspeaker, these signals areamplified in amplifier 170 and conducted to an AM transmitter 172 or anFM transmitter 174 depending on the selections made by the AM/FMselector switch 176 and the U.S./European selector switch 178. Theamplified signals are transmitted by the selected transmitter under lowpower, e.g., less than 5 watts, to the automobile radio which receivesthe signals and broadcasts them over the radio's speakers with anamplitude sufficient for the driver to hear the ongoing conversationover the telephone, all without having to hold the handset up to thedriver's ear.

A telephone battery charger 180 may optionally be used to charge thebattery pack, or charge batteries within the casing, or to directlypower the components within the casing. The charger 180 isadvantageously plugged into the cigarette lighter receptacle. In thepreferred application, the components are automatically normallyde-energized or “off” to minimize battery drain. Transmission occursonly when a conversation is started, e.g., when the telephone call isinitiated by depressing the “send” key.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together, may also find a useful application in other types ofconstructions differing from the type described above.

While the present invention has been described and illustrated herein asembodied in specific constructions of a voice message recording unit anda limited range transmitter for use in conjunction with a variety oftelephone apparatus, it is not limited to the details of this particularconstruction, since various modifications and structural changes may bemade without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthe present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge,readily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent isset forth in the appended claims:
 1. A telephone apparatus for use in avehicle having a vehicular antenna, a vehicular receiver connected tothe antenna, and a vehicular speaker connected to the receiver, theapparatus comprising: a) a cellular telephone for generating electricaltelephone signals during reception of a telephone call; and b) a radiofrequency transmitter electrically wired to the telephone, and operativefor transmitting the electrical telephone signals by radio frequencytransmission to the vehicular antenna for receipt by the vehicularreceiver and for broadcast by the vehicular speaker.
 2. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the transmitter includes an amplitudemodulator.
 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thetransmitter includes a frequency modulator.
 4. The apparatus accordingto claim 1, wherein the transmitter includes an amplitude modulator anda frequency modulator; and further comprising a selector for selectingone of the modulators.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 1; andfurther comprising a telephone battery charger electrically connected tothe telephone.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thetransmitter is releasably attachable to the telephone.